This invention relates to battery driven toy cars. More specifically, this invention relates to a battery driven toy car for which obstacles in the path of the toy car can bring it to a halt, requiring the intervention of the operator to physically move the toy car or the obstacle in order to enable the toy car to resume its desired motion.
It is known in the prior art to equip a toy car with a battery driven motor to propel the toy car. It is further known to equip the toy car with a switch to energize the motor which is operationally connected to the driving wheels of the toy car.
Some toy cars can only run in a straight forward direction. When they encounter an obstacle, they can no longer move. Remotely controlled cars which can be shifted into reverse or steered away from an obstacle, before or after collision, cannot be operated by very young children. Moreover, they are expensive and complex, requiring electrical or electronic controls boxes and either long wires or radio transmitters and receivers. None of these prior art toy cars can run in a tilted disposition to simulate a feat sometimes performed by highly skilled stunt drivers in real cars.
In use, a child operating a toy car places the switch in its on position while holding the toy car off the surface on which it is intended to travel and then places the toy car on the travel surface, pointed in the intended direction of travel. Unless the toy car is operated in a large open area, it is likely to quickly collide with an obstacle such as a wall, piece of furniture, or any other stationary object of sufficient mass that is standing on the travel surface. More often than not, such collisions bring the toy car to a complete halt.
If motion of the toy car is to be resumed, it must be lifted and turned in a direction away from the obstacle before being replaced on the travel surface for continued motion. This shortcoming severely limits the distance that the toy car can travel without intervention by the operator who is customarily a child, results in frustration, and otherwise decreases the degree of enjoyment of the toy. Moreover, long runs in parallel disposition on a level travel surface can be boring to a child whose interest may be excited by having the car assume a tilted position while it is traveling.